PEORIA — Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner reiterated policy points and promised more campaign specifics to a crowd of about 50 supporters during a campaign stop in Peoria on Saturday afternoon.

At Peoria County Republican Party Headquarters, Sen. Darin LaHood, R-Dunlap, introduced “our next governor” to the crowd. Rauner said he planned to make Illinois “the most prosperous state in the country.”

Adding jobs, improving education, implementing term limits for Illinois politicians and reducing the size of state government were the core ideas he detailed to the applauding crowd.

“We are outlining our plan for restructuring and reforming state government right now. We’ve found over $1 billion in cuts,” Rauner said. When pushed for more specifics, Rauner said he would be “outlining more and more in the coming weeks. In just a few days, we’ll be outlining more of our pro-growth and pro-jobs creation reform.”

Rauner took questions from the crowd of supporters. Peoria County Republican Women member Carol Hornickle asked how pensions could be reformed. Rauner said he thought the November 2013 changes to Illinois pensions were unconstitutional, and would be found unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court. “I’m recommending that we protect existing pensions and, for future work, we have folks pay into a second pension plan so they get two pensions when they retire. The second is a more defined contribution plan. This is more affordable, and I think it’s very fair,” Rauner said.

After taking questions, Rauner took photos with supporters as other supporters stayed behind to talk more about policy, Illinois’ current problems and Rauner himself.

“Why are we as a state losing one congressional seat every census? It’s the outpouring of our citizens to other states for jobs,” Hornickle said. “I would say (Rauner’s) business expertise can help stem that tide.”

One of the supporters Rauner shook hands with before leaving for five additional campaign stops throughout central Illinois was Ed Dunbar of Princeville.

“When he shook my hand, he had a grip. I liked that. I said that he must have grown up on a dairy farm, that he must have milked cows. Rauner told me he grew up on a dairy farm,” Dunbar said. But it wasn’t the strong grip that impressed Dunbar the most. “He knows how to run a big business, and I think of Illinois as a big business. Peoria and the state needs help from a man like that.”

Zach Berg can be reached at zberg@pjstar.com or 686-3257. Follow him on Twitter @ZacharyBerg.